Photo: F. D. Richards · CC BY-SA 2.0At 8.3%, unemployment in Coldwater is higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Coldwater is behind 87% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Coldwater are D for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About one in three work in Coldwater; the top destination outside it is Coldwater Township (9%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Coldwater apart
Coldwater is where the jobs are
Coldwater has 8,948 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Coldwater are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
Coldwater draws workers from far and wide
The 8,948 jobs in Coldwater are filled from a wide area. Coldwater’s own residents hold 20% and the ten next-biggest home towns 24%; the other 56% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Coldwater
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Coldwater is better than 11% of U.S. towns, #665 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Coldwater’s grade up (ahead of 45% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Coldwater could be anywhere from D to C−.
In and out of Coldwater on a workday
On a workday 3,392 residents head out to work, 1,830 work right here, and 7,118 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Coldwater on a workday afternoon, 26% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Getting to work from Coldwater takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Coldwater workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,949 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where Coldwater’s workers come from
Where Coldwater clocks in
9% of workers
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What Coldwater’s employers do
8,948 jobs are based in Coldwater.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Coldwater, 2011 → 2021: 8,460 → 8,948. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Coldwater’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Coldwater commutes
About 25% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Good to walk, short on transit: Coldwater
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Coldwater is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #59 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Coldwater near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,285 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.4% of Coldwater households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Coldwater’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Coldwater compares with U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Southfield Township MI | 14,671 | $185K | 4.7% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,125 | Conneaut OH | 12,247 | $62K | 19.4% | 12.5% | 25% | D |
| 2,126 | Monroe GA | 16,507 | $45K | 33.8% | 11.6% | 14% | D |
| 2,127 | Coldwater MI | 14,216 | $51K | 21.3% | 8.3% | 35% | D |
| 2,128 | Mexico MO | 11,558 | $51K | 17.8% | 7.3% | 40% | D |
| 2,129 | Port Townsend WA | 10,678 | $63K | 13.5% | 10.4% | 40% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Coldwater, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
How Coldwater compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Coldwater workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coldwater | – | D | A− | 16 min | $50,781 |
| Coldwater Township | 9% | C | C− | 19 min | $72,014 |
| Girard Township | under 2% | C | D− | 22 min | $77,917 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Coldwater Township. Darker towns draw more of Coldwater’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Coldwater: questions
What is the median household income in Coldwater?
$50,781 (±$3,393) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Coldwater?
21.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Coldwater?
16 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Coldwater work?
35% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Coldwater Township (9%, 2 mi), Fremont (2%, 15 mi), Hillsdale (2%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Coldwater walkable?
Coldwater is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Coldwater without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Coldwater, from the people who make the trip.
More of Coldwater
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.